Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were present near a pillar of the mosque; if I were in (the Prophet’s) Mosque at that time, I would have shown you its exact place. Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said:“Today, the first thing we will do is perform the Eid prayer, then we will return and offer the sacrifice. Whoever does so will have followed our way, and whoever offered the sacrifice before that, it is only meat that he has prepared for his family and it has nothing to do with the religious sacrifice.”Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: My uncle, Sayyiduna Abu Burdah bin Niyar (may Allah be pleased with him), had already slaughtered his animal. He said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I have already slaughtered, and now I have a six-month-old lamb which is better than a year-old one. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“You may offer it in its place, but after you, it will not be permissible for anyone else.”

Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Whoever faces our Qiblah, performs prayer like our prayer, and offers sacrifice like our sacrifice, then if he does not offer the sacrifice before the prayer, my uncle Sayyiduna Abu Burdah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I have already offered the sacrifice on behalf of my son. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is something you have prepared early for your family. He said: I have a six-month-old child. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sacrifice it on his behalf, for it is the best sacrifice.”

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man slaughtered an animal before the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed the Eid prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: After you, it will not be permissible for anyone to slaughter an animal before performing the prayer.

Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to us after the prayer on the day of sacrifice and said: Whoever has performed the prayer with us and wants to offer sacrifice according to our way, let him offer the sacrifice. And whoever slaughtered the animal before the prayer, then it is only meat. Sayyiduna Abu Burdah bin Niyar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I had already sacrificed the animal before coming out for the prayer. I thought today is a day of eating and drinking, so I hurried and had food prepared for my family and neighbors. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is only meat. He said: I have a six-month-old kid goat which, in terms of meat, is better than a one-year-old animal. Will it be permissible for me? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes, it will be permissible for you, but it will not be permissible for anyone after you.

Sayyiduna Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: My maternal uncle slaughtered the animal before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had performed the prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Your goat is just a meat goat, it has nothing to do with sacrifice. He said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! I have a six-month-old kid goat which is better than a one-year-old animal. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: It will be sufficient for you, but it will not be sufficient for anyone after you.

Sayyiduna Uwaymir bin Ashqar Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He sacrificed an animal before going for the Eid prayer, then he mentioned this to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to sacrifice again.

Sayyiduna Jundub bin Sufyan Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: We were with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) during the time of sacrifice. Some people slaughtered their animals before the prayer. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned and observed that those people had already slaughtered their animals before the prayer, he said: Whoever slaughtered his animal before the prayer should slaughter another animal in its place, and whoever did not slaughter until we had performed the prayer, then he should now slaughter, taking the name of Allah.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to a man: I have been commanded to declare the day of sacrifice as Eid. Allah Almighty has declared it as Eid for this Ummah. A man asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! What is your opinion if I only find a female animal for sacrifice, should I sacrifice it? The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: No, you should cut your hair, trim your nails, remove the hair below the navel, and shorten your mustache. All these things will be counted as your sacrifice in the sight of Allah Almighty.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: A ram with horns was brought to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which had black marks on its legs, around its eyes, and near its back. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) came to it in order to sacrifice it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aisha! Hand me the knife." Then he said: "Sharpen it on a stone." I did so. Then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) took the knife, caught the ram, laid it down, and slaughtered it. He said: "In the name of Allah, seeking blessing from Him. O Allah, in Your name, seeking blessing from You, on behalf of Muhammad, the family of Muhammad, and the Ummah of Muhammad (I am sacrificing this)." Then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed it.

Sayyida Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates the statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When anyone sees the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah and intends to offer a sacrifice, he should not cut his hair or nails."

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) In this narration, Imam Malik made a mistake; he said that this narration is transmitted from Amr bin Muslim, whereas the narrator's name is Umar bin Muslim bin Ammar bin Akimah. His brother's name is Amr bin Muslim, but Imam Malik did not meet his era. Amr bin Muslim is a Tabi'i from whom Zuhri has narrated traditions.